Pompei: Marcello Fiori resta commissario degli Scavi

A report from StabiaNews about how conditions at Pompeii have returned to the state they were in last summer when the state of emergency was declared. The new Commissario Marcello Fiori has done little to improve the situation (even cancelling some of the initiatives of his predecessor Profili) and is apparently rarely in Pompeii to deal with problems arising. In the meantime there is still no restaurant and hardly any bathroom services for tourists. Why is there not the political will to do something about this???

Riapre via Matrone: turisti al Vesuvio senza barriere

From Lo Strillone:
Dopo ventun´anni riapre, anche se al momento solo ai bus del Parco del Vesuvio, l´antica via Matrone, la carrozzabile che dal 1894 in poi aveva consentitoa milioni di turisti di arrivare in vetta al vulcano, salendo dal lato di Boscotrecase. Il viaggio inaugurale è previsto per mercoledì allorché quattro navette partiranno da piazza Pace, a Boscoreale, per accompagnare i primi visitatori (politici e giornalisti) in quella che sarà la prima di una lunga serie di escursioni al vulcano. Le gare per la gestione del servizio e per l´acquisto delle navette, costate ottocentomila euro e pagate con un finanziamento regionale, sono state espletate dalla Provincia. A ciascun pulmino è consentito trasportare un massimo di venticinque visitatori, oltre l´autista e la guida, obbligatoria: ciascuna navetta può considerarsi un concentrato di tecnologie indirizzate al rispetto dell´ecosistema e delle biodiversità delle aree attraversate. I bus, difatti, hanno motore diesel con emissione dei gas inquinanti prossima allo zero, impianti tecnologici di bordo come lo schermo wireless ad ogni posto, quattro ruote motrici per arrampicarsi sul vulcano, misure adeguate alla strada e colori che si mimetizzano con quelli della flora presente. Il servizio, secondo le previsioni, sarà attivato nel volgere di una o due settimane. Punto di partenza delle navette, almeno per i primi sette-otto mesi, sarà l’area mercatale di Boscoreale, in corrispondenza con l´inizio di via Panoramica, alla periferia est della cittadina. È previsto che una corsa, con cadenza oraria, tocchi le stazioni di Boscoreale, Boscotrecase e Trecase. Successivamente, si stima alla fine del 2009, stazionamento e capolinea degli eco-bus verranno spostati a Villa Regina, in prossimità del Museo antiquarium per «l´uomo e l´ambiente sul territorio vesuviano»; in quella zona sarà anche attrezzata un´area di parcheggio destinata sia agli automezzi del Parco sia a pullman e veicoli privati dei turisti, visto che tra Comune, Regione e Provincia, nel 2005, venne sottoscritto un accordo che concedeva lo spazio in comodato d´uso e con una durata trentennale. La strada Matrone venne realizzata in poco più di due anni di lavori in virtù di un accordo - concessione (il canone era pari a 180 lire all´anno) datata 1892 e stipulata tra il Demanio e la società Fiorenza-Matrone, il cui maggior azionista era appunto l´ingegnere di Boscotrecase Gennaro Matrone. Più volte distrutto dalle colate laviche, il tracciato venne sempre ricostruito dai Matrone che si trasmisero la concessione per eredità sino al 1988 quando il ministero delle Foreste revocò l´autorizzazione e incluse la strada nella riserva di competenza. La navetta, dunque attraverserà l´area protetta e raggiungerà il piazzale a quota 1050; da li, con la guida alpina, si potrà salire sin sul bordo del Gran Cono, a quota 1250. «Con la riapertura al turismo della strada Matrone - sottolinea Mario Casillo - siamo riusciti a dare al territorio un´altra possibilità di sviluppo, coniugando in maniera perfetta le diverse esigenze dell´area e la tutela di un patrimoni ambientale che non ha simili al mondo».

Visiting the Villa Sora

Jeremy Hartnett and I were in Campania with the ICCS students a couple of weeks ago, and - thanks to Christian Biggi and Sarah Court of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, and to volunteers from Gruppo Archeologico Vesuviano (GAV) - we got to take the students to the Villa Sora (see Sarah's earlier post about the Villa).

The Villa is right by the sea in Torre del Greco with views to Capri, and apparently was terraced over several levels. The small part that can be seen today was excavated in the 1990s and consists of a series of nicely-decorated rooms with lots of floral motifs that have been dated to the Tiberian period - although the decoration is clearly suffering from the elements, despite the roof put up after the excavations.Perhaps one of the things I found most interesting about the visit was the chance to see, and talk about, the impact of the eruption of AD 79 (you can see, for example, the photo below how the black fresco has turned yellow from the heat of the eruption), the problems of excavation, and the problems of conservation.

The villa is basically in a hole, located in the midst of a series of large greenhouses. The excavators were unable to excavate the parts of the villa nearer to the sea because train tracks pass by, cutting the villa in two. They can't excavate further inland, because the land owners won't permit it. So, the remains of the villa are isolated, and modern treasure-hunters have paid a visit. In the photo above you can see a ragged hole in the fresco in the top left corner - a small vignette was stolen from here. (The other more regular holes are from frescoes removed by the authorities.)

To visit the Villa Sora you need to book with GAV. Our coach was met by one of the GAV volunteers as we came off the autostrada and we were guided to the Villa. They have parking for cars, but there wasn't access for our coach which caused a few problems. We then had to walk through all the greenhouses to the villa, past a rather scarey series of chained dogs (I've never seen Jeremy run so fast!!) down to the villa. It was not an easy visit, honestly, but it was fun and I'm glad we did it. The two volunteers from GAV were fantastic; they couldn't have been more helpful and we had a great guided tour. I would recommend a visit - but not with a coach!

My thanks to ICCS students Staci Holloway and Elizabeth Salazar for providing the photos!

Article: Du couteau au boucher

Just out:
Nicolas Monteix, 'Du couteau au boucher: remarques préliminaires sur la préparation et le commerce de la viande à Pompéi.' In W. Van Andringa (ed), Sacrifices, marché à la viande et pratiques alimentaires dans les cités du monde romain. Food and History 5.1 (2007), 169 - 195.

Bronze Ephebe at the Getty Villa

As you read earlier on Blogging Pompeii, the bronze statue of an ephebe as a lampstand from the Casa del Efebo (I.7.10-12, House of Publius Cornelius Tegete), is on loan to the Getty Museum for about a year. It has just recently been installed in the "Basilica" gallery at the Getty Villa.

The statue, having gone through extensive restoration in Florence in the 1990's, received only little conservation work at the Getty Villa--as far as I know it only received a mount for its base in the Basilica and the base was shored up (pardon the non-technical speak!). Every object at the Getty Villa, whether part of the permanent collection or on loan, receives its own mount, made especially for that object. Like other large pieces at the Villa, the Ephebe is mounted on a stabilizing base that is designed as an anti-seismic measure. (And good thing, since we had a magnitude 4.4 earthquake here last Friday!)

One thing that is particularly interesting about the Ephebe is that it retains its original marble base, over which is laid the bronze stand. This is quite rare for sculpture at Pompeii.


The conservation work in Florence revealed the copper lips & nipples that had evidently not been noticed until that time.


You can see other photos of the Ephebe in its temporary home at the Getty Villa on my Flickr page.

Rooms above Porta Marina, response

The rooms seem to be two trapezoidal chambers I have marked A and B on the attached plan (north at top; from Richardson, L., Pompeii. An Architectural History, Baltimore 1998, p. 404) whose west wall is on the same alignment as the main external arch of the Porta Marina (not the footway arch which protrudes further west).

The problem with this plan is that it doesn't give any indication of terracing, which makes it rather confusing. But if you go to Google Earth you can see the modern roof area covering these two rooms immediately above (north) of the Porta Marina and it makes it clear these are the rooms marked on the plan. Or look at Google Maps: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=40.748594,14.483288&spn=0.000981,0.002403&z=19

What is not so clear is which house these rooms belong to. They could belong to the House of Umbricius Scaurus or to Insula Orientalis.1. They are on a lower level than the main floor of both houses.

However, if one examines the facade of the Porta Marina it does rather look as if quite a lot of this superstructure has been substantially reconstructed. I am wondering if these rooms as extant are in fact largely early modern, perhaps even preceding the main excavations, and built on Roman footings. The superstructure here is totally inconsistent with the very poor state of the House of Umbricius Scaurus immediately to the north.